The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 232

< Verse 36. No Color >

Hadel wasn’t convinced by the nuance of the word ‘Hoodman.’

Originally, ‘hood’ referred to a residential area, but just as the meaning of Harlem shifted to signify a ‘crime-ridden area,’ it was now more often used to refer to the residences of poor Black people. [This reflects a shift in the term’s connotation, often associated with socioeconomic disparities.]

‘What is Hoodman? Is it a label from Compton? Or a rapper?’ Hadel wondered.

Hesitating whether to awkwardly leave or stay, a man caught his eye.

Hadel knew instantly that this man was Hoodman. And he also knew that Hoodman’s hood meant ‘hooded clothing,’ not ‘residential area.’

True to his name, Hoodman was wearing a very large hoodie. It wasn’t just a boxy style; it was like someone who wears a size L wearing a size XXL. Maybe even bigger.

The gray hoodie came down over his eyes and halfway down his nose, and the baggy fit covered half of his thighs. The sleeves covered not only the back of his hands but also hid his fingernails.

However, he didn’t look clumsy or foolish.

The gray vintage distressed jeans and hoodie matched quite well, and the reddish-purple Jordan No. 5s added a nice touch. [Jordan No. 5s are a popular line of basketball shoes, often seen as a status symbol in hip-hop culture.]

He looked quite stylish.

“Hey kid, who is Hoodman?”

Hadel asked the kid next to him, settling back into his seat to watch Hoodman’s performance. The kid looked about seven years old and was riding on the shoulders of a man who might have been his father or uncle, making him taller than Hadel.

The kid replied with a cute expression.

“He’s a rapper who raps with his face covered.”

“Really? Like a Marvel hero? Does he defeat villains with rap?”

“What are you talking about, mister? It’s obviously the company’s marketing.”

“…….”

Hadel felt a strange sense of pity in the eyes of the kid looking down at him and turned his gaze back to the stage.

Soon after, the performance of the rapper before Hoodman ended.

Applause and cheers poured out for the rapper who had put on a great show, but it didn’t last long.

The applause and cheers soon began to turn towards Hoodman, who was about to come out.

-Hoodman! Take off your hood!

-Compton Ra Here!

The audience shouted, looking at Hoodman, who was standing in the waiting line. The enthusiastic response caused audience members who didn’t know about Hoodman to ask, ‘Who is that guy that everyone’s acting like this for?’ here and there.

“Everyone’s been waiting a long time. It was really hard to get this friend to come!”

The DJ shouted loudly and dropped a DJ shot like a horn sound. [A ‘DJ shot’ is a brief, attention-grabbing sound effect used by DJs.]

At that moment, Hoodman came onto the stage.

He seemed very calm, even though he was receiving the attention of quite a few audience members. Although it was impossible to tell if he could see because his hood was so big.

“Hoodman! Are you ready? You ready?”

The hood shook up and down in response to the DJ’s question. It seemed like he was nodding.

‘He’s not going to open his mouth until the end,’ Hadel thought.

Hadel watched the stage with an interested expression.

It was only natural that Hadel, who believed that artists are created through music and completed through promotion, would be interested in Hoodman.

Combining the stories he heard from around him, Hoodman rapped with his face covered, and that rap seemed to have caused a great sensation. Thanks to that, curiosity about who Hoodman was had doubled.

It was quite an interesting promotion method, but for this kind of promotion to end successfully, two conditions were absolutely necessary.

The first condition was that Hoodman had to rap very, very well.

Mystery marketing sounded plausible, but in the end, it was about attracting more attention with the device of mystery. No matter how much the label did buzz marketing, the only way Hoodman could attract attention was through his rap skills.

The second condition was even more important than the first. If the first condition was the beginning of marketing, the second condition was the end of marketing.

The second condition was that when Hoodman took off his hood, he had to give people additional content. [In this context, ‘content’ refers to a compelling reveal or backstory that justifies the mystery.]

What if Hoodman took off his hood and was really just a complete unknown?

Then no content would be created. At best, people would remember the rookie’s name and think, ‘Oh, that guy was Hoodman?’ That would be the end of it.

He might gain some recognition and interest, but the intense content of ‘covering his face’ would fizzle out, and the marketing would ultimately be ineffective.

‘If his rap name is Hoodman, that would be fine, but it’s not a good nuance to target all classes in America,’ Hadel mused. [The name ‘Hoodman’ might be perceived negatively by some due to its association with impoverished neighborhoods.]

So Hoodman had to be someone famous in another field, such as a retired basketball player or football player, or a famous singer from a completely different genre like jazz or metal. Otherwise, he needed to be an actor or comedian.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to create additional content.

He didn’t have to be incredibly famous. He just needed to have a point to promote.

If he was a basketball player, he only needed to show a great performance once against a legendary player. What if he was blocked 999 times out of 1000 attacks, but he beat Michael Jordan and made a jump shot just once?

-Basketball player who beat Michael Jordan returns as Hoodman from Compton!

This kind of article would spread and complete the marketing.

‘Okay, show your face. Hoodman.’

Hadel felt his whole body heating up for the first time in a while.

It was like the feeling when LA Guns sold out a concert hall for the first time. [LA Guns is a rock band, and selling out a concert hall is a significant achievement for a band.]

Finally, the beat began to flow.

G-Funk, created by Dr. Dre in 1992, completed by Death Row Records, and continued by West Coast rappers. [Dr. Dre and Death Row Records are iconic figures in the history of G-Funk and West Coast hip-hop.]

G-Funk had several distinct characteristics.

The high-pitched synthesizer produced in the portamento (a way to smoothly connect notes of different pitches) method.

A strong rhythm that sticks in your mind as soon as you hear it.

Yet, not a fast tempo.

But the most important thing was the last one. Since the G in G-Funk is an abbreviation for Gangster, it had to sing about the life of a gangster.

Hoodman began to spit out ‘Gangster Life’ with light gestures, shaking his shoulders.

Living competitively, the only purpose is survival

Pac’s Life goes on is perhaps a typo of Born

A baby bursting into tears at birth,

That cry is foreshadowing, implying the whole life

Hoodman began to express his Thugs Life in a calm voice. [Thug Life is a concept popularized by Tupac Shakur, representing the struggles and realities of life in impoverished communities.]

2Pac was a great musician. But if you ask if 2Pac was the best skillist of the time, that wasn’t the case.

When it comes to the splendor of rap skills, many people put Big L or Notorious B.I.G. above 2Pac. [Big L and Notorious B.I.G. are considered to be among the most skilled rappers of all time.]

The reason why 2Pac was able to become such a great musician was that he told the gangster life very honestly.

Before 2Pac, gangster rappers were all about confidently telling stories about drugs, sex, and fights.

‘I killed two people today, and there are five bodies under my garage. You know now that if you mess with our crew, you’ll die, right?’

Of course, 2Pac also enjoyed swaggering about his own strength. But he did not hesitate to honestly release the message that gangsters are also people.

Through the track ‘Dear Mama,’ written in prison, he talked about his love, gratitude, and respect for his mother, and through ‘Life goes on,’ he mourned that life goes on even though his friend died.

In ‘Thugz mansion,’ he calmly revealed that he had thought about suicide and now wanted to have a space where he and his friends could rest comfortably.

This was inevitable to receive tremendous support from all black people. Because it was their real story, not something fabricated for the media.

The fact that the blacks in the hood sell drugs to make a living without being educated was not determined by ‘choice.’ It was given that way from birth.

Pac was the first major rapper to express such complaints and hardships, and the story that Hoodman is releasing now was an extension of this.

Hoodman was talking about life, calmly telling his story.

At the same time, he also showed high-level rhyming such as Survival, is a typo.

Pow, Pow Silent gunshots that cannot be heard

Even if it’s an empty magazine, I have to hold it to fall asleep

Thugz mansion, G mansion

What does G mean anyway?

At first, Hadel Raines was strongly determined to guess Hoodman’s identity.

Looking at his height, he didn’t seem to be an athlete, and the skin that was slightly visible under his hood was quite dark. But it seemed to be the skin of a mixed race rather than the skin of a black person.

‘I’ve definitely heard that voice somewhere… Did I hear it on the radio? His tone is very sophisticated?’

But at some point, Hadel began to stop reasoning. No, he had no choice but to stop.

Before he knew it, he was listening to the rap that Hoodman was spitting out, and his thoughts were taken away by the emotions he was conveying.

Hadel Raines had only actually heard this captivating voice once before.

The eternal rock star who argued that rock stars are completed by death. Kurt Cobain. [Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of Nirvana, a highly influential rock band.]

Gangster, Gunz, Grace, God or Gold

No one knows, every life has its own G

Ask me, for me G is It’s All ‘G’ood

Some numbers judge my life, We say ‘G’osh

Kurt Cobain was a musician who showed his true worth in small club performances rather than large concert halls, radio stations, or recording booths.

In fact, he wasn’t a great singer. He often ruined the stage because he couldn’t manage his voice properly, and his volume was not outstanding compared to existing singers.

But he had something that could not be evaluated by skill.

The moment he performed in a club that could accommodate about 150 people, the club was filled with Cobain’s presence. Maybe he was born to do alternative.

And Hadel thought that Hoodman in front of him was born to rap.

Hadel thought he had discovered his last spark.

But unfortunately, Hoodman had a label. A label that can do quite sophisticated marketing.

Everyone needs education, growth,

Need a stable family

Campton is blacked out again tonight,

What do you feel in the blackout?

If it’s not hope, I don’t want to hear it.

People who had heard Hoodman’s rap in the past were surprised that his rap had progressed in a few days, and those who had not heard it understood why the rapper with his face covered had become famous.

And the black rappers in LA felt ‘identity’ and ‘longing.’

That bastard has lived the same life as me.

And he will soon succeed with rap.

Finally, the 16-bar 1st verse ended, and the chorus began.

The chorus was very simple. Enough for a 4-year-old to sing along after hearing it once.

This is Pac’s story

Or Big’s story

No, my story

Forget it, everyone’s story

But no one was singing along to the chorus.

Now it was purely Hoodman’s stage, and people wanted to hear his emotions.

This is Pac’s story

Or Big’s story

No, my story

Forget it, everyone’s story

It was that moment. Suddenly, Hoodman lowered his right hand holding the microphone and signaled the DJ to cut off the beat.

All the audience members had regretful and puzzled expressions, and the DJ had a bewildered expression.

Perfect stage, perfect audience response. There was no reason to stop rapping.

But Hoodman didn’t seem to have any intention of rapping.

While the beat of the second verse was futilely raising the stage, the DJ finally cut off the beat.

-Hoodman!　Why!

The little boy who had been talking to Hadel shouted from his uncle’s shoulders.

Hoodman looked at him for a moment and then slowly opened his mouth.

“Sorry.”

Everyone thought Hoodman’s apology was directed at the little boy who shouted.

But it wasn’t. Hoodman was apologizing to someone.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to be recognized. I thought people would be surprised if I, who had been discriminated against, appeared like this? Everyone would feel ashamed of their actions? That’s what I thought at first.”

There was a commotion on one side of the audience at Hoodman’s ‘speaking voice’ that was heard for the first time.

-Oh my god!

-Where did he go!

But most people didn’t understand Hoodman’s words. They couldn’t figure out who he was apologizing to and why.

But Hoodman continued calmly.

“But that wasn’t recognition, it was coercion. At first, I wanted to break down prejudice. I wanted to break down discrimination. But as I met friends from Psychedelic Records and audiences from various clubs, I realized that I had been building a wall myself.

That instead of breaking it, I had to be absorbed into the big culture of hip-hop.”

Finally, Hoodman took off his hood.

The commotion that had filled one side of the audience spread to all the audience members.

This wasn’t a matter of knowing or not knowing Hoodman. It was because Hoodman was FiveSix, the Asian who sang in the previous order.

It was surprising even to people who didn’t know the exact situation. And it was a shocking thing for the rappers in LA.

“The song I just sang is not a song about gangsters. I can’t sing about gangster life. This is just a song about what I felt while living in Korea, and someone will think it’s their song. Why? Because it’s the same. Korea cannot possess guns, but the ’empty bullets’ clutched to survive are everywhere.”

Sanghyun was just comparing his past life, where he played with numbers in an empty CEO’s office with bloodshot eyes, with words that fit the American sentiment.

Because everyone is the same in the end.

Rap was originally like that. Touching other people’s emotions with my complete story.

“The song I’m going to sing now is No Color. Even if you mix yellow or white with black… the color is black.”

The moment Hadel Raines heard Hoodman, or FiveSix’s, last words, he decided to sign a contract with FiveSix even if he had to pay all of his assets.

FiveSix gained popularity by covering his face after being ignored as an Asian. And he dealt with it so wisely.

What if FiveSix had confidently revealed his face?

At first, it would be surprising and become an issue, but in the end, he would have been ignored by the black musicians in LA.

Because the moment they recognized Hoodman, it would be judged that their actions and eyes that had ignored FiveSix because he was Asian were low-class.

The higher FiveSix flew, the more they would feel like ‘morons who didn’t recognize his skills because of the racial frame,’ and that would soon lead to rejection.

But FiveSix didn’t do that.

He politely apologized that he was trying to deceive them and told the story based on ‘black.’

It was amazing eloquence.

But what was even more surprising was that FiveSix was speaking sincerely, not as part of marketing.

‘If it’s a scripted event, it’s an absurd planning ability, and if it’s an act from the heart, he’s a born star.’

Hadel had a conviction that it would be the latter for some reason.

That’s how FiveSix’s stage began.

No Color.

Of course, the blacks who had belittled FiveSix as an Asian did not immediately shout and respond madly.

That’s what happens in Hollywood movies.

But there was a faint smile on their faces, and they were tapping to the beat without even realizing it.

You could feel that their hearts were gradually opening.

***

< Verse 36. No Color > End

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